Landlords now responsible
for unpaid city water bills
HEPPNER
G T
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azette
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VOL. 135
NO. 36 10 Pages
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
New ordinance shifts responsibility of
delinquent bills from renter to owner
By David Sykes
A new ordinance
passed Monday by the Hep-
pner City Council shifts re-
sponsibility for unpaid city
water and sewer bills from
the renter of a property to
the owner, or landlord. The
ordinance was passed to
make it easier for the city to
collect on unpaid water and
sewer bills when the renters
move out and walk away
still owing the city.
The city will still set
up accounts and bill renters
for their water and sewer,
it just now requires that
renter to give the city the
name address and phone
number of the property
owner, and that “owner of
a rental property shall be
responsible for any unpaid
water or sewer accounts
of his or her tenants.” The
new ordinance also requires
“written consent signed by
the owner which allows the
transfer of liability for any
delinquent utility service
accounts of the tenant to
the owner.”
Prior to passing the
ordinance the city held a
hearing to take input from
the public. Heppner resi-
dent Cody High, who is also
running for mayor in the
upcoming election, spoke
out against the ordinance,
saying that water and sewer
bills are agreement between
-See CITY WATER ORDI-
NANCE/PAGE THREE
Morrow County, Heppner, Oregon
Circuit court asks to alter judge bench at
Secretary of state
courthouse
visits Morrow County
County not quite ready to alter historical furniture
By David Sykes
A proposal by the Mor-
row and Umatilla Circuit
Court to alter the bench area
in the historic courthouse
in Heppner met with some
resistance recently when
the plan was presented for
approval to the County
Commissioners.
Trail Court Administra-
tor Roy Blaine came to last
week’s county court meet-
ing with a request to cut the
historic wood bench and in-
stall electrically adjustable
table legs to “enable a large
portion of the work surface
to be raised or lowered for
the comfort of whichever
judge is using the court-
room,” he said in a letter to
the commissioners.
Blain said that there are
now two large computer
monitors on the bench work
surface. He said three of the
five judges are have trouble
seeing over the monitors,
and is requesting that the
modifications be made in
order that the judges can see
the courtroom better. “We
value and appreciate the
historic nature of the Mor-
row County Courthouse,
and of the courtroom itself,
and we also appreciate
that the County Court has
worked with us over the
years to enhance sound
characteristics of the room,
electrical and computer
network access, and other
modern technology im-
provements,” Blaine said
in his letter to the commis-
sioners. “We believe that
this project is in the spirit
and character of retaining
the historic nature of the
courtroom while improving
its usability for any judge
who might hear matters in
the courtroom,” he added.
Commissioner Leann
Rea had the most vocal con-
cern about the plan, saying
that every other alternative
should be explored before
the historical bench is cut
and altered.
“I have a real problem
with destroying the integ-
rity of that bench,” she
told Blaine. “I think there
should be another way.”
She said she had res-
ervations about doing any
alterations to the bench. “I
think every other option
should be explored, maybe
look at different chairs.”
She said the State Histori-
cal Preservation should be
consulted before anything
is done.
“We plan to retain a
carpenter who has experi-
ence with restorations to en-
sure that the work surface is
carefully cut and the edges
Morrow County Clerk Bobbi Childers (left) and Oregon
Secretary of State Jeanne P. Atkins pause for a photo during
Atkins’s visit at the Morrow County Courthouse in Heppner
Tuesday. Secretary Atkins says she is on a mission to visit every
county clerk in Oregon before the November election. Her visit
one of several in Eastern Oregon this
-See COUNTY COURT/ to Childers in Heppner,
week, was her 28 th stop. -Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
PAGE THREE
Cody High appointed MCSD announces good start to new
school year
to fair board
The Morrow County Court has ap-
pointed Cody High to the Morrow County
Fair Board.
The court took the action at its Sept.
7 meeting in Heppner. High is a resident
of Heppner and had expressed interest
in serving on the fair board. The vote to
appoint High to the three-year fair board
Cody High
term was unanimous.
By April Sykes
Morrow County School
Superintendent Dirk Dirk-
sen, at the district’s Mon-
day night meeting at Sam
Boardman Elementary, told
the board that the school
year is off to a good start.
Dirksen said that district
enrollment was at 2,270
students, up from last year.
He estimated that after the
dust settled, the increase
would likely be closer to
60-65 students over last
year’s enrollment.
Dirksen mentioned that
there was talk about the
possibility of a 120-unit
apartment complex and
60 new homes going into
Boardman. He said that
with around 5,000 jobs at
the Port of Morrow, around
3,000 workers drive in for
their jobs, rather than living
in Boardman. He said that
the last time regular apart-
ments (not designated for
specific populations) were
built in Boardman was in
the 70s.
“It’s kind of exciting,”
he commented, concerning
the possibility of population
growth in Boardman.
Dirksen also mention
the drastic need for bus
drivers. He said that with
the lack of substitutes, com-
pleting activity runs and
getting everyone home has
been a challenge, especially
if a driver calls in sick. He
urged interested people to
contact Mid Columbia Bus
to apply.
Dirksen commented on
the district’s increases in the
number of computers and
other technology, saying
that it is “getting us closer
and closer to one to one.”
He also discussed the
Police searching for
person of interest in
Boardman shooting Hospital foundation helps fund new
ultrasound machine for PMH
The Morrow and Uma-
tilla Major Crime Team is
investigating a fatal shoot-
ing that occurred around 9
p.m. Sunday night in Board-
man, including a search for
a juvenile “person of inter-
est,” according to a news
release from the office of
the Morrow County district
attorney.
Police were called to
an address located at 600
Wilson Road Trailer Park
on a report of a male with
gunshot wound. When po-
lice arrived they found
Evencio Salas Birrueta, 27,
of Irrigon with an apparent
gunshot wound. Officers
immediately began lifesav-
ing measures on the victim.
These efforts were unsuc-
cessful, and the victim was
pronounced deceased by
emergency medical per-
sonnel.
Through interviews
with witnesses and analysis
of the crime scene, the Mor-
row and Umatilla Major
Crime Team is attempting
to locate a juvenile person
of interest in the case. No
further information was
given about the juvenile,
-See PERSON OF INTER-
EST/PAGE TWO
Hughes named
Round-Up princess
Makenzi Hughes of all her life. That experi-
Heppner has received the ence was accented by her
coveted honor of being active involvement in FFA,
named a princess on the serving in leadership posi-
tions, and 4-H, win-
Pendleton Round-
ning several awards,
Up court this year.
including many in
Hughes, 18,
beef showmanship.
is the daughter of
“I plan to make
Kevin and Angie
the Pendleton
Hughes of Heppner.
Round-Up proud,”
A 2015 graduate Makenzi
said Hughes of her
of Heppner High Hughes
placement on the
School, she now at-
tends Blue Mountain Com- court, “by representing
munity College studying them as a cowgirl, ambas-
sador for their town and the
agriculture education.
Hughes is continuing a community.”
Look for Hughes en-
tradition within her family;
sister Jessica Hughes was a tering from the west at the
Pendleton Round-Up Prin- Pendleton Round-Up rodeo
cess in 2012. Hughes says kick-off this Wednesday,
she has been riding horses Sept. 14, at 1:15 p.m.
By Andrea Di Salvo
Pioneer Memorial Hos-
pital has a new ultrasound
machine, thanks in large
part to a grant from the
Pioneer Memorial Hospital
Foundation.
Foundation board rep-
resentative Larry Mills said
the organization was started
a number of years ago to
accept tax deductible dona-
tions for health care.
“If anyone wants to
send us a check, we’re al-
ways open to that,” quipped
Mills.
The foundation’s schol-
arships for local graduates
entering the health care
field are well known, such
as the Earl & Hazel Wil-
son Health Care Education
Scholarship and the Dr.
Wallace Wolff Memorial
Scholarship.
Another way the foun-
dation aids local health care
is by helping with improve-
ments used for health care
in the area. This time that
improvement came in the
form of a new ultrasound
machine for Pioneer Me-
morial in Heppner.
The foundation gave
the hospital a grant for
$30,000, which covered a
large chunk of the $44,263
machine. Morrow County
Health District CEO Bob
Houser said the machine
was a necessary upgrade for
-See HOSPITAL GRANT/
PAGE TWO
-See SCHOOL DISTRICT/
PAGE SEVEN
Tuesday in Heppner, Pioneer Memorial Hospital Foundation members handed over a grant
check for $30,000 to help fund the hospital’s purchase of a new ultrasound machine. Pictured
L-R: Morrow County Health District CEO Robert Houser, Foundation Chair Larry Mills,
PMH Lab and Imaging Manager Betty Hickerson and Foundation member Tonia Adams.
-Photo by Andrea Di Salvo
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